Model of a Decision Support System for a Least-Cost and Harmonized Capacity Adjustment in the Short- and Medium-Term Planning Horizon

Because fluctuations in demand will increase in future, producing companies will have to adapt their available capacity regularly, always taking the total production costs into account.In practice, planning of available capacity is being realised without a comprehensive evaluation of changeover costs of total costs. The aim of the presented approach is to support companies in choosing an adequate strategy for a least-cost and harmonized capacity adjustment in the short- and medium-term planning horizon. This also represents a first step towards a new planning approach, enabling not only the systematic utilization of flexibilities of orders, but also of manufacturing resources.